{"title":"Sport attendance behavior spectrum: motivators, constraints and context","authors":"K. C. Mayer, E. Hungenberg","doi":"10.1108/IJSMS-04-2020-0070","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"PurposeThe purpose of this paper was to explore a new sport attendance behavior spectrum framework where sport consumer behavior is not derived from just a dichotomy of a motivator positively impacting attendance or a constraint negatively impacting attendance. Rather, when accounting for the context of the setting (e.g. sport, playing level, locality, patron type, etc.), some areas belong on a spectrum that fluctuates between positive and negative impacts on attendance that are dependent on the context of the given environment.Design/methodology/approachThrough factor analysis and structural equation modeling, the proposed model attempted to explain relationships between five second-order factors and game attendance, which expanded to include the new internal contextual and external contextual factors, and ultimately team fandom.FindingsThe results indicated three significant main effects where internal contextual exhibited a positive relationship with attendance, while constraints and external contextual demonstrated a negative relationship. Internal and external motives were not significant. Further, the moderating effect of high and low sport interest groupings largely indicated no significant spectator differences. The model explained 24% of the variance in attendance, and attendance accounted for 41% of the variance in team fandom.Originality/valueAttendance is intricate, and this study highlighted the importance of considering and adapting to the sporting context as some factors exist on a sport attendance behavior spectrum and differently impact spectators positively or negatively, given the context of the setting. Further, in this lower-level sport setting, consumers viewed minor league hockey more as a leisure commodity than a premier sport contest.","PeriodicalId":47102,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Sports Marketing & Sponsorship","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.0000,"publicationDate":"2020-09-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1108/IJSMS-04-2020-0070","citationCount":"3","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"International Journal of Sports Marketing & Sponsorship","FirstCategoryId":"95","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSMS-04-2020-0070","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"HOSPITALITY, LEISURE, SPORT & TOURISM","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 3
Abstract
PurposeThe purpose of this paper was to explore a new sport attendance behavior spectrum framework where sport consumer behavior is not derived from just a dichotomy of a motivator positively impacting attendance or a constraint negatively impacting attendance. Rather, when accounting for the context of the setting (e.g. sport, playing level, locality, patron type, etc.), some areas belong on a spectrum that fluctuates between positive and negative impacts on attendance that are dependent on the context of the given environment.Design/methodology/approachThrough factor analysis and structural equation modeling, the proposed model attempted to explain relationships between five second-order factors and game attendance, which expanded to include the new internal contextual and external contextual factors, and ultimately team fandom.FindingsThe results indicated three significant main effects where internal contextual exhibited a positive relationship with attendance, while constraints and external contextual demonstrated a negative relationship. Internal and external motives were not significant. Further, the moderating effect of high and low sport interest groupings largely indicated no significant spectator differences. The model explained 24% of the variance in attendance, and attendance accounted for 41% of the variance in team fandom.Originality/valueAttendance is intricate, and this study highlighted the importance of considering and adapting to the sporting context as some factors exist on a sport attendance behavior spectrum and differently impact spectators positively or negatively, given the context of the setting. Further, in this lower-level sport setting, consumers viewed minor league hockey more as a leisure commodity than a premier sport contest.
期刊介绍:
The International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship is the world’s leading journal for the sports marketing industry. Published quarterly, it has met the rigorous standards required for a listing by both PsycINFO and the Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI).